Shadows of Psyche
by Cookirini
Summary: No matter what we do, and where we go, we must always hope for a better future. And most of all, we must stick together, no matter the consequences....a Lethe and Mnemosyne story.
1. the door

_In the shadow of the valley of Death, there is a door of stone hidden from the knowledge of all but the guardians of our worlds. This door is older than any race, perhaps even older than the worlds, and it has always been shut._

_It is forbidden to search for the door. It is forbidden to look upon the door. _

_But it is most forbidden to open it. For while one is searching and looking upon it, it is always possible to go back. But once you open it, it is too late._

_There is no turning back once the door is opened._


	2. prelude to disaster

_**SHADOWS OF PSYCHE**_

_**prelude to disaster**_

_"Lethe...!"_

_"Mnemosyne...!"_

_Our hands touched, one last time._

_"Lethe! Mnemosyne!"_

_Then, that voice. That voice that called lesser and greater soldiers to war. The one whom we were supposed to send to her oblivion._

_The voice of that woman is the last thing we heard...before our own oblivion..._

_I remember, sister. I remember._

_Do you? In this state, it's hard to recall..._

_I remember everything. I remember you and me. We were born together, cradled, just like this, at our mother's bosom. We were born together, and we died together, just like we promised. Remember?_

_...Faintly. _

_It was so long ago, but...the court of our mother...it was beautiful. There were so many stars we could see as we lay on our backs as counted them. I remember how I wanted to be like that, like those distant stars._

_It's hard to remember the good times, sister. We were just kids then, babies even._

_Yes, but we were always there for each other. I was sad when we had to separate. Remember when mother told us of our assignments...?_

_What are you talking about? We were never _that _far apart. Our worlds were very close to each other; they practically orbited one another._

_But it still felt so far away. It felt that way, because they were nothing alike...your world was cold and quiet. The people simply walked in a daze, their minds wiped of no other motive in life but to simply be. They were nothing but shells. The fields were bare of vegetation and wildlife. The cities were nothing but steel beams and shells. You yourself sat on an iron throne that was decaying at the base. So stiff and silent, it was unbearable._

Your _world was the one that was unbearable. Your people were so lively that they almost drove each other insane, always talking over each other. The gardens and forests were ill-kept and overgrown. Your world was nothing but a jungle - it didn't even have cities. You didn't even sit in a chair - you would just receive me sitting up in an oak tree. What kind of world was it? An uncouth planet, that's what. That's why I never visited._

_If my world was so uncouth, then why did your people rise up and attack it?_

_Because the ungrateful masses wanted their memories returned. My waters carried no memories for them. Your waters did, and could make anyone remember with clarity even the times they were in their mother's womb._

_And that is why we had to defend our world. Your people were so savage...when one is without memories, they become desperate. I would have willingly allowed them a drink from my waters..._

_It's never that simple, sister._

_...Why couldn't we stop it?_

_I don't know._

_I wish we could have. But by the time we had settled our own differences, it was too late. The wars had gone on for too long. The damages couldn't be reversed. I couldn't bear it!_

_How do you think I felt? When Galaxia-sama came..._

_Galaxia-sama..._

_...I'd rather not remember that._

_She was our only choice. But now, she won't bother us anymore, sister. That's all we need to remember._

_Is that a justification? Would our people forgive us so easily with those words?_

_I..._

_Sister...?_

_Huh...All of a sudden...I heard something._

_What does it say?_

_Calling me...!_

_I...I hear it too._

_Then, it must mean...it must mean...!_

_It's time. I suddenly feel faintly like myself._

_Yes, and the light! Do you see it?_

_I see it..._

_It's beautiful. It's calling us back, and it's...so beautiful. It's calling us home._

_...I'm not sure I want to leave here, sister._

_Why not?_

_...I'm afraid of what I will see when I go home.._

_We can't be afraid. Not now._

_I can't help it. I think I should stay here..._

_No! I couldn't bear never seeing you again. And this may be our only chance to start over...!_

_You...you really want to...?_

_Please, Lethe. Please take my hand. Let's go back. I want to go back. I want to make things right._

_...Where you go, Mnemosyne...I will follow. After all, we are sisters._

_Yes. We are sisters. There it is..._

_I... _feel warm...

"Lethe!"

Her eyes jolted open at the sound of her name being called. It hurt for a moment to open them and look, for it felt as if her eyes had not been used for a very long time, if at all. She had to quickly shut them to lessen the pain.

"Lethe..." The voice became clearer now. "...sister...you're alive!"

"...Mnemosyne..."

"I'm so glad." Something suddenly dropped on Lethe's cheek, something cold and wet. "I woke up, and I didn't see you...and then, right up in the sky, I saw your light...oh, sister...!"

"...Stop crying, Mnemosyne."

Confirming her sister's actions, Lethe heard Mnemosyne sniffle. Again, Lethe decided to slowly open her eyes, and this time, it didn't hurt so much to look. After all, it was dark, wherever they were, which Lethe much preferred over it being sunny or light. Whether she had died or lived, it would have hurt Lethe's eyes even more.

"I'm all right." Slowly, stiffly, Lethe sat up. "As I see you are. Now, where am I?"

"...Home...your planet..."

Lethe's eyes began to focus on Mnemosyne, whose eyes were still cloaked in tears. Then she saw what was behind her sister, and this gave the sailor soldier a start. Such a start, in fact, that she jumped up, her eyes blinking to see if it was true.

There was nothing.

There were no ruins, no bodies, no cities or life, not even the hint of any civilization that may have been there. The landscape was nothing but cracked brown rock, jagged crags which loomed in the distant, craters of all sizes littering the horizon, and unforgiving dust which choked the air.

"What is this?" Lethe turned to Mnemosyne accusingly, her voice shaking slightly. "This is not planet Lethe! This is...this is a wasteland! A nightmare!"

"Lethe...I...I'm so sorry..."

"How can this be!" Lethe stared at the sky. "This can't be...my planet...where's _your_ planet then? Mnemosyne should be on the bottom right, near the horizon!"

"...It's up there..."

"Up _where_?"

Sorrowfully, Lethe's mauve-clad partner looked up toward the right of the sky, and Lethe followed her gaze. Visible to her eye were several thousand large, satellite-sized red and green-tinted rocks which blotted out the stars and were dotted throughout the horizon. Several were obviously far away from the planet, but some of the larger ones loomed dangerously close.

"...My god..."

"I..." Mnemosyne's voice was shaking. "I couldn't go back to my planet."

"What...what have we done?" Lethe looked down at Mnemosyne, whose tears had begun to flow again. "How...how can we..."

"Sister..."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake slightly. It was not something that either girl could feel, but judging by the fact that some of the tinier rocks were starting to shake, Lethe could tell that something was happening.

"A quake...!" Lethe dropped to her knees. "This...this is all impossible. My planet...lifeless...your planet gone...and now, quakes...!"

"Those aren't quakes, sister."

"What?"

"Those are meteors." Mnemosyne's voice was more morose than Lethe had ever heard before. "The remains of my planet...they've been pulled in by your world's stronger gravity, or...what's left of it...like meteors. It's been like this for several days, since I landed here..."

"The red...but the green..."

"Those pieces broke off your planet when the meteors hit." Lethe looked up towards the sky in shock. "We...we don't have much time. The remnants of my planets are...are going to hit this world...and then..."

Mnemosyne's voice trailed off. There wasn't much that she could say, that Lethe couldn't figure out on her own.

"And that's it?" Lethe looked back down at the ground of what was left of her keep. "We were sent back here to die on a dead planet? Is this our punishment for going with Galaxia-sama?"

There was silence as Mnemosyne looked down at Lethe, unable to comfort, unable to respond in any way. She felt the same way as Lethe did, or at least she hoped she did that time. Lethe had tended to drink the hopelessness of her subjects - later her victims - like wine. Younger, Lethe had been much less cynical, but she had become as morose as the waters which took her name, from the moment she had become protector of Lethe. In earlier times, Mnemosyne would wonder if Lethe was truly upset, or simply masking her glee with a show of sadness.

_But this...this was her world...how could she not be sad...why would I think such a thing...?_

"...No." Mnemosyne suddenly heard Lethe's resolve return. "I won't let that happen."

"Sister..."

"I won't sit here and wait to die." Slowly, Lethe stood up. "I'm not going to do what I did with Galaxia-sama - let something take control of my fate again!"

"Lethe..!"

"I'm going to go another way." A cold wind blew around the two as Lethe spoke. "I'm going to open the door."

"The...!"

At this, Mnemosyne gave a gasp. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back from Lethe, as if Lethe had sprouted another head.

"You wouldn't _dare_!"

"What?" Lethe turned away. "Would you stop me if I tried, even now?"

"Lethe...mother told us...never to open it!" Mnemosyne reached out to touch Lethe. "We made a promise to mother when she charged us, don't you remember! No matter what, we would never seek, find, or open the door! Tell me you remember!"

"Mother is dead." Lethe's tone of calmness shocked her sister to silence. "Mother is dead, and everyone else is dead. I don't see what could stop us now. Unless you want to die like a dog."

There was a moment of silence at this. Mnemosyne stared at her sister, unwilling to believe that her sister would break a taboo. Lethe looked out to the distance, as if to concentrate, to look for the door at that moment. The wind picked up around them, colder than ever.

"...It wouldn't matter, whether she was dead, or alive..." Lethe spoke again. "Because...one day, before Galaxia-sama arrived...I found the door."

"Lethe...!"

"It was quite by accident, really." Lethe closed her eyes. "It was during a skirmish, when your people had attacked one of my cities...and as I retreated with the survivors through a valley I was not very familiar with...I came upon a river hidden in fog."

"Lethe..."

"I had never seen a river, besides the river of Oblivion that ran under my throne, on Lethe. And since it was the only place to retreat, I did so, with my followers. Once we crossed, however, we were shocked to find a second river. We crossed this one as well, and when we did, the fog lifted, and we found ourselves in a grove...the only spot of grass, with the only tree, that I had ever seen on Lethe. And under the tree..."

Lethe stopped at this. Mnemosyne could only stare at her sister as she began to walk off.

"I turned back that time, when I realized what it was...I was fearful then." Lethe's voice began to fade as she walked away. "Perhaps that was the reason all of this happened. But now that the world is gone, I have nothing to lose. I may as well open the door this time...with or without you."

Mnemosyne did not respond as Lethe began to disappear from sight. She was too stunned to speak, unable to understand why her sister would dare do such a thing. In her mind, there was still a way to perhaps rebuild it all, and maybe return to the way it used to be.

_...No._

The hope died as soon as it came. Mnemosyne only had to look up into the sky and see the ruins of her own planet to see that there was no returning to the way it had been before. There was no one left, no cities, no vegetation, nothing. With nothing, there was nothing left to lose.

The ground shook again as Mnemosyne suddenly ran after her sister.

"Lethe! _Wait!_"

The green-clad girl stopped as Mnemosyne caught up to her, breathless. She was suddenly hugged tightly from behind by two arms, which she clasped.

"Mnemosyne."

"I'll go." Mnemosyne buried her head deep into Lethe's back. "I don't care. I'll stay with you no matter what!"

"...my sister..."

With that, Lethe gently unclasped Mnemosyne from her, and brought her forward. The two of them looked into each other eyes, with all the fear and uncertainty that came with it. They were alone, with only one another to depend on.

"We'll go together." The wind died down. "We'll do together to the door. The door of our oblivion."


	3. crossing the rubicon

_**crossing the rubicon**_

_I remember the day we became sailor soldiers._

_"I don't want to go, mother!"_

_"You must."_

_"Must we?"_

_"Yes..."_

_Our mother stood there, her long dark hair flowing to the ground, her tall body wrapped in ermine and stars. That she had been blessed with a child, she would say, was a gift unparalleled to one like her, but to have twins was unbelievable, though we heard she had been given children before us, children who were long gone to her. Still, we were blessed in our youth, and wanted for nothing. But little did we know what our true calling would be when we reached the age of maturity, when we abandoned our identities of youth._

_"I'm scared." I hugged my mother tightly. "I don't want to leave!"_

_"I don't want to let you go." She hugged be back, just as tightly. "But I must. It is my duty to let you go, just as it is your destiny to leave me."_

_"But..."_

_"Be strong." She let go of me, and bowed down. "Both of you, be strong. Become strong sailor soldiers, and protect the twin planets."_

_At this, she brought her hands into her dress, and presented to us two wands. Gilded with gold, one was green, one was mauve. Instinctively, we took one of the wands, unsure on the outside as to how we knew which one to take._

_"My children..." Our mother's dark eyes were filled with tears as she stood up. "Before you use your wands to transform, and leave me forever, you must promise me one thing."_

_"What is it, mother?"_

_A small gust of wind blew through the windows of the room, surrounding us like a circle. Our mother's tears became sparkles, flying away like little stars as she looked at us._

_"You must never open the door..."_

"Uugh!"

The ground trembled violently as Mnemosyne's hand grabbed onto the rock. With a grunt, she crawled up to the peak of the mesa, landing on her knees as she did so.

"L...lethe..."

"It's here."

Lethe wiped the blood from her arms as she looked down into the broken valley. It was almost as she remembered, though it was stripped of everything; the fog was still there, concealing the valley like a shroud. It had been several days' journey to reach the forbidden place. It was several days of great hardship, as the two watched the remnants of Mnemosyne's world crash into Lethe, felt the quakes as they came with an ever-increasing intensity, and walked through the bare rocks and wasted landscape of Lethe during their journey.

It was hard for Lethe to look at, to see the fruits of Galaxia's work.

"It's not far now." Mnemosyne looked down into the valley worriedly as Lethe spoke. "Amazing. There's a very powerful magic here if the fog remains here, even after my world was destroyed."

"Sister...I'm scared..." Mnemosyne grabbed Lethe's hand. "We don't have to do this. There must be another way."

"And how do you think I feel?" Lethe looked away. "Do you think I'm not scared?"

"...I don't know..."

"...Come on. Keep with me."

Lethe grabbed Mnemosyne's hand and began down the mesa. She remembered the road from that distant battle, even though it had been so long ago; the road was still there, though it crumbled underneath their feet. Looking back on their road, Mnemosyne almost thought that the road behind them was crumbling on purpose, as if to prevent them from going back. She began to shiver.

"Keep going!" Lethe grabbed her arm more tightly. "The planet is becoming more unstable."

"Sister..."

"We must cross the two rivers." Lethe began to walk more swiftly. "It starts somewhere after the fog. We must be careful – it's very dense."

"But Lethe...!"

"_What_?"

"We have no way to get across! No boats, nothing to ferry us!"

"We still have a way."

"But you can't swim!"

Lethe looked uneasy for a moment at this; it was at times like this that she didn't need her sister to remind her of such things, especially in such a moment of desperation.

"I don't care." Finally, hoping that she did not look too afraid, Lethe simply shook her head. "Besides, I don't remember the water being too deep. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"But Lethe-"

Mnemosyne's protest was cut off when another quake suddenly shook the ground. This one was very strong, powerful enough to cause the largest crags to sway. It also caused Mnemosyne to lose her footing, and she tumbled head first down the ledge of the path.

"AAAH!"

"Sister!"

Lethe made a lunge for her partner's hand, but it was too late. The girl tumbled thirty feet off the side before hitting the ground hard, crying out as she did. Then she lay still.

"_No!_"

Instincts of childhood long forgotten kicked in. Lethe instantly jumped down right from the ledge onto the ground, falling to her knees as she dove towards Mnemosyne, who gave a weak moan.

"Mnemosyne..."

"I'm...I'm ok." Blood trickled from a small cut on Mnemosyne's forehead as she looked up at Lethe. "Ugh..."

"Sister, I'm...sorry..." Lethe quickly brought Mnemosyne's head onto her lap. "I shouldn't have rushed you. And...there's nothing here to bind your wounds..."

"It's ok." Mnemosyne started wriggling away from Lethe. "Let's just keep going."

"Wait."

Lethe quickly took a hold of her skirt and gave several tugs at it. The fabric gave away, and Lethe rubbed it onto Mnemosyne's head, wiping the dirt away. The younger girl gave a gasp at this, and attempted again to squirm off, but Lethe quickly caught her by the neck, forcing her to stay put as the wound cleaning was finished.

"Mmm..." Mnemosyne shut her eyes tightly to suppress the tears. "Ow..."  
"It's the best I can do." Lethe let got of her neck. "I'll give you a few minutes, but then we have to go."

"I know..."

The ground began to rumble once more. It was not as terrible as the last, but the two girls still felt it. Each time the ground shook, they knew the planet was one step closer to being completely ripped apart.

"...I'm scared." Mnemosyne looked up. "The pieces of my world are coming in closer than ever."

"We can't be scared." Lethe stood up, holding her twin's hand. "Not yet. We can't stop until we get to the door."

"Lethe, do you truly want to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe...we can leave." Mnemosyne looked down. "Leave this planet. Maybe...maybe there's a world we can look for...that needs us...we don't need to go through with this."

"And how do you plan on getting to these planets?" Lethe shook her head. "You silly girl. We don't have that kind of power."

"Then...we have no choice?"

"This is our choice." Lethe looked towards the fog. "Let's go, if you want. If not, I'll go alone. I'm not forcing you."

Lethe began to walk, but stopped when she saw that Mnemosyne had not followed. She pondered whether her decision was the right one; perhaps Mnemosyne was correct, and there was power somewhere to get them off the planet. Perhaps there was another way.

She turned to talk to her sister, and instead saw her sister following, a sad, nervous smile on her face.

"I...I'm coming..." Mnemosyne nodded. "I won't abandon you, no matter how scared I am."

"...Thank you." Lethe felt something of relief when she saw her sister. "I won't forget this."

With that, the two held hands once more and began to walk towards the fog. Somehow, it seemed to Mnemosyne as if the fog was coming towards them as much as they were going towards it. Either way, it didn't matter; within a matter of minutes, they were within the fog.

"Keep holding my hand." Mnemosyne could not even see her sister, as the fog was so dense. "I'll look for first river. It's not very wide, so it won't be a problem?"

"Are you sure?"

"...Just keep holding my hand."

Mnemosyne could not help but be scared. The fog was so dense, and so humid, that she was already wet from it. The intensity of the fog burned her eyes, and with her free hand, she had to keep continually rubbing them in order to ease the pain.

"Stop."

Mnemosyne froze as the world began to shake again. She felt something cold splash onto her toes, then recede, then felt a more violent splash thrown up to her ankles. She knew they were at the bank of the first river, but it didn't make her feel any better about the situation.

"Keep holding my hand..." Lethe began to move into the water, and Mnemosyne slowly followed. "Keep holding my hand..."

The water was far colder than Mnemosyne had anticipated, or wanted it to be. She gave a gasp as the ice hit her; unfortunately, Lethe was not giving her any time to pause and absorb the shock; she kept going, making it next to impossible for Mnemosyne to keep up with her.

"Uh...mgh!" Both girls were neck deep in the water when Lethe finally spoke. "We're...nuh...we're almost there."

"L-le...ethe..."

"Hurry...b...before you get...frozen."

Lethe took in several sharp breaths to compose herself, to keep her focus, before she lost it. She felt Mnemosyne's grip slipping, even though she knew she was holding on very tightly. The memories of the foggy valley did not include the water being so damning. Without the warm sustenance and protection of the normal atmosphere that had been long stripped by Galaxia, however, the water became exposed to the far colder reaches of outer space, making it a potential death for the two of them.

_Why did I..._ Lethe shut her eyes. _It can't be long...there can't be much more. Just...a little...more..._

Just when she thought that even she could no longer stand it, she finally felt the water level lower down her torso and, with relief, she managed to drag herself and Mnemosyne to the edge of the river, and they both tumbled to the ground, gasping and shivering violently.

"Oh...god..." Mnemosyne was almost doubled over with pain. "Lethe...si-sister..."

"...One...more." Lethe wiped the water from her eyes as best as she could, though it made no difference with no visibility to begin with. "One more."

"Please." Mnemosyne grabbed Lethe shakily. "Just a...moment to warm ourse-selves..."

"Time."

"_Please._ We'll d...die if we don't."

Lethe grimaced at Mnemosyne's words. There was no time to spare for rest; they had already wasted too much time on rest, and the quakes were becoming more and more violent by the minute. On the other hand, Lethe knew that if the water was as cold in the second river as it had been, they surely would die if they did not stop to let themselves warm up.

"...Here..." Mnemosyne drew herself to Lethe, pressing herself tightly against her partner's quivering body. "Please. We need to warm up."

Lethe shook as Mnemosyne's hands touched her back; they were very cold, even colder than her entire body. Yet something kept her fast; perhaps it was the realization that Mnemosyne really was the only person left. Or perhaps it was the instinct that Galaxia so hatefully preached – that all sailor soldiers gathered together for power, drawn by the warmth of their fellow woman's sailor crystal and its power.

The latter, which Lethe may have believed at one time, seemed to be hallow to her now, for she knew it wasn't for Mnemosyne's power that she stayed with her, as her former master had constantly spouted. That Mnemosyne could feel the powers of others' sailor crystals far better, was most likely true; Lethe knew how empathic her partner was, and how it was Mnemosyne's sympathy, rather than Lethe's natural coldness, that had eventually cost them their lives. But even then, Lethe could not believe that they simply stuck to one another for the sake of power, especially not after meeting the one known as Sailor Moon.

_She...is my sister..._

"D-do you remember..."

"Huh..."

"Wh-when we were kids." Mnemosyne buried her head into Lethe's bosom. "We used to cuddle just l-like this. Wh-when all the other ch-children made fun of us, and we...we would go into our s-secret hiding place."

"...Yeah." A spark of memory from a time long since buried came back to Lethe. "I used to tell you scary stories..."

"About th-the shadow in the basement." Mnemosyne closed her eyes and smiled. "I was so scared...and then we found out...it was a m-mouse."

"I remember..." Lethe sighed. "There are many things I still remember, sister."

"Then do you remember...the others?"

"...the others..."

Lethe looked down at Mnemosyne's barely visible head as she remembered. The others had been other river guardians, recruited by Galaxia to guard Shadow Galactica. There had been four soldiers before Lethe and Mnemosyne's arrival, who guarded the two outermost rivers; all had died by Galaxia's hand for various treacheries when the twins arrived, and their rivers dried up upon their deaths, resulting in the creation of the desert that ended up separating Galaxia from her enemies.

Only one had ever successfully crossed the desert.

"Maybe...their planets ended up better than ours. Maybe theirs were not torn by war when Galaxia-sama met them." Mnemosyne looked out through the fog, as if she was trying to visualize their faces. "Do you think, maybe, we will meet them again one day?"

"I don't know where their planets are."

"...Neither do I."

They were silent again for a moment at the thought of seeing other faces, let alone faces from the past, again. Many thoughts went through both of their heads regarding their current actions, remembering the forbidden act they were doing.

They had been warned by their mother to never go through the door, let alone to ever seek it; it had been her one request to them before they had left her side forever. When they left, a place which not even Mnemosyne could remember the name of, not even their deaths had been a fear for their mother; all she talked of was the door, a door carved in stone which would lead them to something terrible that she didn't explain.

She had died, shortly after they had left. Or she had left the planet. The truth was that once Lethe and Mnemosyne received their twin guardians, their dark-haired mother had simply disappeared. Neither girl was certain as to what had really happened, because no one ever told them the complete truth about their mother. All they ever received was an indifferent courier telling them their mother was gone, but he did not say what he meant by that. They could only ever wonder, if they even had time to wonder, what it all meant.

"...Mnemosyne."

There was a distant rumble underneath them. Lethe's wandering mind returned to the situation at hand, and she wriggled out of Mnemosyne's hold. Mnemosyne stayed on the ground for a moment more ad Lethe stood up.

"We have to go." Lethe started moving her arm around to catch Mnemosyne's hand. "We have to hurry."

"I know..."

After some more flailing, the two finally found each other's hand, and Lethe pulled Mnemosyne up. They held on tightly as Lethe's instincts led them on, and slowly, they began to walk on.

"Just one more river." Lethe held on so tightly that Mnemosyne would have seen her arm turn white from the loss of circulation if she could see. "Then, we'll be there...we're almost there."

Mnemosyne gave a gasp as her feet touched the cold water. It was even colder than the previous river, and worse, the next step found the water near Mnemosyne's knees. Mnemosyne began to shiver with fear again, and she didn't find it too implausible to think that Lethe was also shaking slightly.

_This river...is steeper...!_

"C-come on!" Lethe grit her teeth as she threw Mnemosyne to the front, shocking her even more. "We've got to swim."

"Sister..." Mnemosyne gulped as she felt her feet flailing for ground. "B-but you can't swim..."

"T-teach me."

"I..."

It wasn't that Mnemosyne didn't know how to swim herself. She did, and she had to know, because her world was filled with streams and rivers. Many people had to be rescued when they were having troubles in them – and she was the one to save them. She also knew how to have someone hold onto her when she swam, but when she tried to bring Lethe over to her, Lethe simply tried to pull away.

"S-sister!"

"Just lead me." Lethe took quick breaths. "J-just tell me what to d-do."

"...Ok..." Mnemosyne began to paddle. "I'll p-paddle my arms. You k-kick with me. Ok-k?"

"...Ok..."

The next thing Mnemosyne knew, Lethe's legs scissored up from the water and slammed back down, creating a huge splash. The cold water hit Mnemosyne's face, and she gave a cry as Lethe continued to thrash around her legs wildly, not realizing that Mnemosyne had not even started swimming yet.

"N-n-no!" Mnemosyne shouted. "No, you're d-doing it wrong!"

"Huh?"

"J-JUST..." Mnemosyne couldn't help but giggle a little. "W-wait for my call. Th- i then /i st-start, but keep your f-feet underwater so w-we can go faster."

"Ok." Lethe sounded exasperated. "Just let's h-h-hurry! It's getting c-cold."

With that, the two began the swim, with Lethe kicking alongside her sister. It was unbearably cold, and deep; Mnemosyne could tell that it was far deeper than the first river, and far wider. It had only taken three moments to cross that river, though it felt an eternity. The new river was far more of an eternity, with no end in sight. Worse, they were swimming against the current, which almost halted their progress to nothing.

As a result, the minutes seemed to pass by even slower the second time, and Mnemosyne could feel the stinging pain from the cold turn into a tingling itch, and finally into an aching numbness that was fearful to have. She began to slow down somewhat, though she did not realize she was doing it.

"Mn...mnemosyne!"

"...L..." The words felt heavy on her mouth. "Wha..."

"W...we're slow..."

"Le...lethe..." Mnemosyne felt herself slipping. ""Too...cold..."

"Mn...mne-"

Lathe's words turned into a scream when the howling roar suddenly filled the air. The water suddenly careened forward, covering them within the water and shocking their systems.

_Too..._ Lethe experienced violent whiplash. _cold..._

The wave lasted only an instant. The levels suddenly lowered drastically, flinging the two down to the floor of the river. The two gasped as they saw the giant black shadow in the distance, even in that fog, lodged straight into the river. Turning to their left, they began hobbling as fast as they could in the near knee deep water, hoping, perhaps, that there would be an end to the madness, that the door was just within their blind reach.

"Run..." Lethe stumbled, but quickly jumped back up, keeping Mnemosyne's hand in hers. "_Run_!"

Then, the giant crest of a wave overshadowed the rock.

"**RUN-**"

The water hit like two tons of bricks. Neither girl expected it to come so quickly, or to come so violently. The next thing they knew, they were underwater and their partners' hands were gone, violently ripped apart by the new menace. They tried to scream, but the water prevented them; they kept their hands outstretched, as if just doing that would save them.

But it did not save them the last time they died, and as the two of them began to slip into consciousness, they knew such a gesture would not save them now.


	4. goodbye cruel world

_**goodbye cruel world**_

_I remember Death._

_I wasn't expecting it to happen, especially not when we had such an important person in my ferry. It was true, the guard of the Rivers did not have such a good record with Galaxia-sama. When we arrived, after our wars were ended, there were four others who guarded the master's castle, and whose rivers nourished the artificial star seed gardens that Galaxia intended to use for the new order of things. There was also the graveyard of those whom she had killed, to serve as a reminder to her slaves, especially those who had retained their true personalities and thoughts, what the price of rebellion was._

_The power of their rivers were very fearful, as were the guardians themselves. Drinking from one, for example, caused one to lose their voice for eternity, while drinking from another could cause a person to go insane with grief and kill themselves; that river was lined with the bodies of the river's victims. Galaxia-sama's favorite river would burn an intruder, but wouldn't destroy them – they would stay alive even after their flesh had burned off. One didn't even allow anyone by Galaxia-sama to cross – one had to drop their blood into the stream to be allowed across. Hence, with all six of our powers combined, Galaxia-sama's realm was protected._

_Then those four decided to rebel. Like us, they retained their original selves under the shackles, so long as they served Galaxia-sama. And one day they consorted with one another and decided that they would be far more suited to shape a new order than the master. So the gang of four left their posts – a deed forbidden to them – and went to murder the queen in her sleep. _

_They never reached her. They were killed by two of Galaxia-sama's most loyal followers – twins like ourselves. We never knew what was done with their crystals, for their treachery was unforgivable. All we knew was that they were dead, for at their moment of death their rivers dried up and disappeared._

_I wonder if our rivers dried up at our moment of treachery. Not like now. The river burns me...it is like our death all over again..._

"_Haaaaaaaaah!_"

The first sensation Mnemosyne felt was the slamming of her back into the sandbar. Her eyes opened wide at this, met in kind with the cold of the water. But her hand was till outstretched, and it was above the surface. With a kick, she threw herself onto the shore, gasping for air.

_Lethe...Lethe!_

She gasped as sensation returned to her – pain and cold from the icy waters, like a thousand knives. She shut her eyes to alleviate the pain, to banish it, but it did not work, whether or not her eyes were open or no. So she simply lay there, writhing in pain, hoping the ache would leave her at last.

"_You must never open the door..."_

Then she saw the fog clearing in front of her. The tree that lay with it was diseased, and brown leaves were scattered on the ground; the grass underneath her was dead and poked her like tiny needles. But one thing had not changed; it was there, a small path led to it, more ancient than the planet, yet only the frame was slightly cracked from all the years of wear and tear.

"_For it will mean the end of your worlds...and your lives."_

Mnemosyne stared at the door for a moment. It had strange symbols on it, from a language unknown to her, scraped into the door. Something about the writing frightened her somewhat; it seemed to be a ward, at least in her opinion. Yet she felt drawn to it, regardless; the forbidden acts of the past reminded her that it would not have been the first time she had disobeyed the rules for her personal needs and desires.

It would not have been the first time she had betrayed someone's trust in her.

"L...Lethe!"

Mnemosyne's eyes widened when she realized what was not on the shore, alongside her.

_Who_ was not on the shore.

"_Lethe!_"

There was no response. Mnemosyne gave a cry as she remembered what had occurred, and she looked behind her to the all-consuming fog. The river was behind there, as were the meteors and bare rocks and the remains of two worlds.

And Lethe.

"_No!_"

Before Mnemosyne knew exactly what she was doing, she was back in the water and was violently kicking through the ice and the pain. She couldn't see anything, and the waves from the meteor were still powerful enough to knock her head underwater. But Mnemosyne forced herself to ignore whatever she could, and to press on.

_I promised her._ Mnemosyne briefly stuck her head underwater to look, though she had problems keeping it under because of the pain. _The day we faced each other again, after those long years of war...when you finally gathered the courage to see me again in your shame. Your people started the war, and we grew to hate each other...but once we talked, we said would be the ones to finish it in peace...do you remember...?_

Mnemosyne stuck her head in the water again, and her mouth opened in shock, allowing water to enter. She instantly dove back up, took another deep breath, and then dove back in, swimming down into the endless cold abyss.

_We promised to stay together for as long as we lived. Once we put aside our differences..._

Her vision underwater had been far clearer than it had been on the surface, and so it was easy to see the body of her sister, limp and motionless, under the control of the waters. Mnemosyne kept going down, further and further until she was close enough to touch her sister's hand. She went to grab it, and missed as it floated away from her.

_I may have been a complainer and weak, but I would never abandon you._

Mnemosyne threw out her hand more forcefully, grabbing Lethe's hand on the second try. Her lungs began to hurt as she began to swim up towards the surface, hoping she was pacing herself enough to ensure that she wouldn't get exhausted.

_You are my sister._

Mnemosyne finally broke through the surface, taking in the deep breaths. Seeing Lethe's body face down, she turned her body right-side up and gave a cry.

"Lethe!" The green-clad soldier's face was blue, and her eyes were half open, the pupils dilated. "_Lethe! No!_"

Mnemosyne had no time to grieve, or act properly. She suddenly heard the familiar roar of the falling stars and screamed, throwing Lethe onto her back as she swam. She hoped she could hold on, hoped that, this time, they would miss it, that they could make it.

**TH-OOOOOOOOOM**

There a brief, strange sensation of intense heat as Mnemosyne heard and felt the rock hit. The new rock hit further away from the last one, but it still hit hard. The two were again thrown down to the bottom of the seabed once more after a wave had overcome them, and Mnemosyne broke into the fastest run she could muster with a girl on her back and torso-high water. Lethe showed no signs of responding to the run; she was completely cold on Mnemosyne, and almost every part of Mnemosyne's soul was certain that she had died.

_Please...don't be..._

Mnemosyne shut her eyes tightly as she ran, anticipating the water to return as she huffed her way through the shallow water. She readied her breath for when she needed it, and held Lethe tightly to her, secretly vowing not to let go again.

Several minutes passed, and nothing happened as Mnemosyne made her way towards higher ground.

_How...?_

Mnemosyne pondered it, but set it aside as good luck, or at least an act of providence. One of Mnemosyne's flaws, unfortunately, involved an ignorance of acquired knowledge, as her planet scorned decadent culture – at least, that was what Mnemosyne and her forested people had specifically called the resulting cold cities and stifling industry of Lethe's forgetful masses. As a result, she knew little of physics, let alone what had happened to water when it wad heated immensely.

The rock that hit had been a very large piece of her own planet, and had, in fact, smashed away a side of the valley and boiled the water that had been in that part of the river. It was fortunate that the partners had not been closer to the epicenter, as they would have been incinerated. But Mnemosyne knew nothing of her luck as she attempted to climb the sandbar with Lethe on her back.

_Ugh..._ The ground quaked nonstop for several minutes as Mnemosyne slowly made her way up the side of the newly-created cliff. _Must...I must go...Lethe..._

The cliff began to rumble again, and several pieces of rock fell onto the two, nicking them. Gritting her teeth as her fingers were smashed between rocks, Mnemosyne felt one of her hands slipping from blood.

_We'll...make it to the door...together!_

Mnemosyne's hand came up, holding a tight grip on the ground. As she held on, she felt the needle sting of grass. She crawled up, shifting and arching her back so she could attain the position she needed to get over the top.

"...mmm..."

_Lethe...!_

The first sign of life from her sister lifted Mnemosyne up, and not only within the depths of her soul. The next thing she knew, she was on the grass, and she quickly laid Lethe on the ground, looking down at her with both worry and hope.

"..._hukuh_..." Lethe shuddered, coughing up small bits of water as she did so. "...me...mem..."

"Sister."

"I..." Lethe's eyes widened. "...a..."

"Lethe...?"

Mnemosyne turned to see what Lethe was looking at, and her own eyes widened. All around them, the fog was clearing. It was not for the sake of the location they were in; the truth of the matter was far more sinister when Mnemosyne saw what little was left of the planet Lethe had protected. Felt in her lungs how little air was really left for the first time now that the adrenaline had worn off.

Time was running out.

"Lethe..."

"Mne...mnemo...syne..."

The loud cracking sounds, forced the two into action. Beneath them, the ground was shaking violently, and also cracking apart.

"..._Run!_"

With a shout, Mnemosyne grabbed Lethe's hand and began to run for it. Lethe, however, struggled to get up, and stumbled as if she were blind as she was led.

"The door!" Mnemosyne threw her free hand out. "The door-"

The two were suddenly thrown down violently by another quake, the strongest one yet. Behind them, they could see the remnants of the first river's bedrock hurl into the atmosphere, no longer held together by the rapidly weakening gravity. All around them, the ground began to jut up, and the cracks became deeper.

Lethe shook her head as she crawled to Mnemosyne, grabbing her hand.

"Si...ster..."

The two grabbed each other and stumbled closer to the door, which lay only a few yards ahead of them. They were becoming short of breath as they came up to the tree, which was cracking as well.

"Here..." The frame around the door was beginning to fall apart. "...door..."

Mnemosyne grasped the handle of the door, which felt old and thick in her hands, and coated with rust and mold. She stared once more at the door, her feelings and feelings suddenly mixed.

"_You must never open the door..."_

For a single moment, everything slowed down for Mnemosyne as she remembered her mother's words. She remembered how, in her mind and to Lethe, she had vowed to never seek, find, or open the door. She remembered, too, how Lethe had vehemently vowed to Mnemosyne that she would never seek the door, particularly when she had learned that the forbidden place was located on her planet.

They had followed their mother's wishes to the letter. At least Mnemosyne had, up until that moment, as her hand shaking as she held onto the handle, her mind clinging to one last doubt as to whether they were doing the right thing. Whether it was better to die outside the door, or to die inside the door.

"_I have nothing to lose."_

It was amazing, Mnemosyne pondered, how far they had fallen.

**BOOOOOOOOOOM**

Several things happened at once. Mnemosyne felt her sister's hand gasp the other door handle, and heard the grunting as she struggled to open her side. She suddenly felt herself pushing as hard as she could on the door, hoping it would budge, hoping that it would open this one time. Behind them, the remnants of the second river was blasted by another meteor, and the shattered remains floated off towards a body with a stronger pull.

_Sister._

The door almost seemed to suddenly burst open in front of them, just as the ground began to finally give way. Neither sister knew what exactly had propelled them forward at that instant – perhaps they had thrown themselves in. Perhaps they had pushed one another in. Perhaps the ground had quaked so violently that last time that it simply threw the girls in during its final heaves. Perhaps someone else had a hand in their sin.

But as they tumbled into the darkness, upside down, they each opened their mouths to scream at the sight before them. It all collapsed; the ground, the mountains, the rocks, with one final snap the rest of the planet simply fell apart right in front of their eyes, the larger pieces connecting to remnants of Mnemosyne and breaking them apart in turn. Debris flew into the door with them, blown in by the amazing force that the planet's death had placed upon it, tumbling and floating through the void past the two girls.

_Sister._

At the sight of the natural carnage that planet Mnemosyne did to planet Lethe, and vice versa, something suddenly died within their hearts. The light of their power as sailors, already dimmed by years of war, conquest and slavery, seemed to snuff out at the sight of this final destruction. Pieces of themselves disappeared in despair – pieces of memories, pieces of their lives.

It was unbearable enough, seeing everything taken from them within a matter of seconds.

_It's...gone._

The blast was powerful, and Sailor Lethe and Mnemosyne were thrown far into the depths of the door. They were barraged on all sides by the rocks and the force of the blast. Neither one could withstand it, and both soon found themselves plunged into the darkness once more, floating away from one another once more. It was the end of their journey, and the door was indeed their doom, just as their mother had always warned.

--------------

Neither girl managed stay awake long enough to see the terrible emptiness of space left by their planets as the last rocks scattered into space, never to be seen again. It would not have mattered it they had; their hearts had already hardened against seeing it. The shock alone of seeing the planet destroyed was enough to abhor them from wanting to behold that spot again.

Neither girl saw the door as it was silently, almost reverently closed by a hand, one as small as a human's, wrapped in white samite up to shoulders padded in black. Nor did they see the smile at the sight of them, or hear the voice that commanded the door, which sealed itself up and disappeared forever. The door's purpose had been fulfilled in their eyes, and was no longer needed after eons of existence.

"...It is done." The figure, looking down upon the two new charges, spoke quietly, as if not to wake the intruders that had invaded its domain. After such a forced entry, the next steps could wait; there was now plenty of time to be had for what was to come. "At last."


	5. seige perilous

_**siege perilous**_

_It is completely quiet near the main gates of the misty wastelands. _

_Throughout the ages, only a lucky few have managed to break through those prehistoric cobalt gates, and enter into the hallowed ground, to exploit the power within. Even fewer have managed to find the smaller entrances into the silent world of infinite boundaries, for they were normally well hidden and protected by powerful magic._

_Protected by one person throughout the duration of the universe. Outside of real time, within a place situated both within and outside the the universe, only one person had overseen the natural order of things. _

_That will change, soon enough._

_---------------------_

The first sensation that Mnemosyne felt was pain. Aching pains in her head, on her arms, and the dull pain shooting up her back. For once, though, pain was a good thing; pain meant she was still alive, if injured.

_...sister..._

It was gone, she realized in the back of her mind. The second sensation was shock, for it was completely gone. Her planet, her sister's planet, everything they had worked for was gone in the blink of an eye. She didn't know whether to cry, or scream, or resort to taking it out on herself. She had seen it with her own eyes; the world just crashed around them, shaking that one final time...

It was all too much for an injured mind to take in at once. Or perhaps she was used to the destruction. Either way, the information was simply ejected from the forefront of her mind for the time being, stored for later, when she could properly mourn.

_Lethe._

Woozily, she looked around, composing herself for whatever lay ahead. She turned to her left to check on Lethe, who had been worse off than her; she then turned to her right, then looked around more frantically, when Lethe did not appear to be with her. She tensed and sat up when she realized Lethe was gone.

"Lethe! Where...!"

It was silent and foggy, to the point where it reminded Mnemosyne of where they had just left, before it had finally collapsed, though she did her best to shut those moments out. She had shivered violently back on Lethe at the cold, the howling winds; in the new void, though, it was the opposite feeling. It felt like a sauna, the heat causing her to sweat.

"Lethe? _Lethe?_"

Suddenly, another wind flew in front of Mnemosyne. This time, however, it was the wind made by a rather large object, which was thrust under Mnemosyne's throat before she could get away.

"Get up." The voice, though rough and low, was not an entirely bad thing, for Mnemosyne realized that, at least, she wouldn't die alone. "Now."

------------------

Lethe had never seen such a place before.

_...So quiet..._

The dark castle in front of her was dimly lit and surrounded by fog – a solitary citadel in the endless, empty landscape. In terms of fortresses, Lethe had seen far bigger in her time – this new palace was dwarfed many times over by the Shadow Galactica , and Lethe's own castle, while minuscule, was still bigger than the house she stood before. There were two rivers which surrounded the castle, Lethe noticed, and even these were wider than the castle.

_I wonder...what is here..._

She had woken up, much as Mnemosyne had, realizing her sister was gone. She limped as she walked along, calling Mnemosyne's name, as her leg had been injured during the final destruction. Her head still swam from her newest brush with death; indeed, when she saw the castle, she thought that she was surely dreaming that anything could live in the abyss.

She finally came to the entrance of the building, and paused at the doors, spotting the waning and waxing moon signs that adorned them. She remembered one with the moon sign, she who had intruded upon Shadow Galactica that fateful day when Lethe was to ferry six uninvited guests to their doom.

That attempt to please their master didn't quite go the way Lethe had anticipated. Somehow, parts of the party managed to break Lethe's hold over them, no thanks in part to Mnemosyne. Indeed, of the eight individuals who stood at the banks of the desert rivers, five were killed by Galaxia's most loyal followers. Lethe and Mnemosyne had been among them, for disobedience, and once they were gone, the rivers were no more.

_...What is the use..._

Betrayal leading to betrayal, leading to betrayal. Lethe had betrayed her people, then her professed savior. Now, she was betraying the memory of her mother. Succumbing to inevitability, then, and throwing caution to the wind, Lethe pushed the doors open and stumbled inside.

The interior of the castle was certainly not as impressive as that of Galaxia's, at least in terms of instilling fear into enemies. On the contrary, the main hall seemed small, cozy and welcoming, with light cream walls decorated with portraits, candles and bright red tapestries. The doorways that led to other points of the castle were large and paneled with white, as was the staircase that led to the second floor. Above Lethe was a large chandelier, lined with a red gem that Lethe could not identify

_What...is this?_

Near one of the doors was an oak roll-top desk, with scattered papers and a half-filled glass of red drink sitting inside. On top were images of various women – smiling, making music, playing games, posing in many different positions – staring back at Lethe. They all looked familiar, as if she had seen them before, in another time, another place, but she could not point out where.

At the sight of the last picture, however, something clicked within Lethe's memories. It was a picture of two people, smiling at the camera. One was a short, almost stubby, girl with pink hair somewhat like her own, and pink eyes, much like Mnemosyne's. But it was not that girl that held Lethe's attention; it was the other, taller woman, who held onto the young girl, that caught her eyes.

The long, dark green hair. The tall, thin body. The piercing, dark red eyes staring back at her. Lethe stared at the picture, memories of a time long past resurfacing after years of burial. For one moment, Lethe doubted, but the longer she stared, the more her doubts disappeared, her confusion and shock growing by the minute.

"_Mother...!"_

"_Mama, come back!"_

"_Mother...is gone."_

_It...can't be. This...?_

Lethe's attention came back to reality at the sound of the opening door. She quickly turned, her eyes frantically searching for a hiding place as the door began to swing open. She spotted a doorway to her right, and started towards it.

"Running is futile."

Lethe froze as she heard the voice. It was low and throaty, foreign to her ears. Yet there was that tinge of familiarity that came along with it, the feeling that somewhere, somehow, she had heard the voice in the past. Slowly, she turned around to face her assailant.

"I knew you were here." The figure smiled, with Mnemosyne leaning on her. "Have no fear...I will not hurt you."

"Sister!"

The sisters' eyes met, relief washing over them as they saw the other. Lethe, however, shifted her eyes towards the new figure, who gently let Mnemosyne go to her sister's arms.

"I welcome you to my domain, Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne." The woman was clad in a black sailor suit, its form eerily similar to that of the girl who defeated the twins. "I am Sailor Pluto."

--------------------

The girls had never had such food in their lives.

Lethe stuffed herself until she felt ready to burst with a bland white grain that was placed before them, while Mnemosyne busied herself with a pile of tangy white meat slathered in a thin brown sauce. Their host had prepared it for them while they tended to their wounds in the study, which was lined with books, chairs and statues of figures unknown to the girls. Once they had finished, Pluto had set her long table for them and invited them to eat as much as they wanted before leaving them to their own devices.

Eat they did, as they had not had a meal since before they died on Shadow Galactica. Whatever it was they were being served, it was unlike anything they had eaten before in their lives. Lethe was used to the disgusting artificial food tablets on her planet, while Mnemosyne was used to sweet tree fruits and ambrosia. With Galaxia, they were subjected to a meager diet of three pieces of mooli, a slice of soured cheese and a pile of sub par grain paste once a day.

As the two finished and let their grateful stomachs settle, Pluto returned to the room, sitting on the table with her long silver staff in hand.

"How was your dinner?"

"Mmmm..."Lethe wiped her face with her hands. "Very good."

"Delicious." Mnemosyne smiled. "Is this food from the planet Pluto?"

"Not quite." Pluto looked down. "It actually comes from a world called Earth."

"Earth..."

The two girls looked at each other with recognition of the word. They had heard it numerous times from their golden master, whenever she came by to rant and rave about her great rival.

"...Sailor Moon."

"She resides there," Pluto nodded with confirmation. "As do other sailor soldiers, including myself. You have met her before, I see."

"...We have." Lethe looked uneasy as she spoke. "It was, well, some time ago."

"When you ferried her across the river, correct?"

"Wha..." Lethe nearly jumped up at this. "How...?"

"I am the guardian of time." Pluto looked at Lethe for a moment, as if she were examining her, though she still smiled. "I am a being that can live outside of time, and thus am omnipresent and omniscient of everything that has occurred since time began. I can see the experiences of everyone and everything in this universe. Even the possibilities and probabilities of all that is and all that will be are within the grasp of my knowledge."

"...Wow..."

"...But even without my omnipresence, I am an old hand at reading faces." Pluto's smile seemed warm, though to Lethe there was something more to it, though she could not put her finger on it. "So there is very little you can hide from me either way."

"So...are you an ancient sailor?" Mnemosyne stared at Pluto with awe. "You've lived outside of time all these years?"

"Cumulatively, Sailor Pluto – in this form, with this unique identity - is over 10,000 years old." The two girls gasped at this number. "Though due to some circumstances beyond my control, this is technically the second version of my body. A more human version of my ageless self, exposed to mortality through Sailor Moon's power of healing. So I will probably not live as long as I had before, though I certainly don't regret it."

"...Huh."

Lethe and Mnemosyne stared at her, simply unable to believe it. It was more of the fact that she knew so much, and perhaps, even more, the fact that she knew Sailor Moon, the girl who had defeated them. Yet she seemed trustworthy, not vengeful at all, even though they themselves had worked for the woman who undoubtedly killed her.

"As for you, it was fate that you would, perhaps, one day, come through the door." The sailor looked down upon them with an imposing eye. "It is good that you have made it. You, the last two living soldiers who guarded the rivers of Shadow Galactica."

"The last two..." Lethe and Mnemosyne stood up at this. "Then the others...!"

"They chose to take their ultimate forms, and faded into the Cauldron to become stars in the night skies." Pluto turned away. "Their planets have been taken over by displaced soldiers. Renamed, reconstructed, everything. Their doors disappeared when they did."

"Doors..." Mnemosyne stared at Pluto. "They...had doors as well?"

"Yes."

With a motion of her hand, Pluto bade the girls to a massive window at the other end of the dining room. The two silently obeyed, unsure of what they were expected to see. Quietly, they stood behind Pluto, who stopped in front of the window.

"Rivers...!"

"Two rivers..." Lethe stared at the two rivers that flowed beside the castle and into the distance. "Just like the ones that we protected for Galaxia-sama..."

"Yes. You see," Pluto paused. "In the beginning, I knew of all the rivers. Their powers were to be within my domain, and when I assumed my guardianship, I received into my hands six lights from the queen of the stars. She was the crystal that carried the power of the Cauldron, potentially the most powerful creature to behold. Her word was law over many sailor soldiers, and once she had given me my stewardship, I was never allowed to leave it. So this is where I stayed, the gates of time, with six sailor crystals to be used to aide me in my mission."

"Your mission to guard time."

"Six rivers were to surround the Gates of Time, and I was to install them." Pluto closed her eyes. "But as the years began to pass, I stalled to awaken these soldiers. My stewardship was lonely, yes, and I longed to have companionship, longed to share the burden. But I also remembered another thing; that I had never had a choice in my destiny. A sailor soldier's destiny is to protect that which she loves, and in order to do this, she would choose what she loves. I did not love what I did, and I did not choose to protect it. For me to force that burden upon others...I would never escape from my guilt."

Pluto's eyes glazed over slightly at this.

"So one day...I took the lights and cast them away. I knew there would be ramifications, but I didn't care. I wanted them to live."

The two looked at Pluto, unbelieving at what they were hearing and seeing. Her figure was so familiar to them, and it began to make sense to them now, as to why.

_You must never open the door..._

"Once the seeds left the Gates of Time, I was confronted by Queen Serenity, the woman who charged me with my mission." Pluto looked down. "She said nothing as I told her what I did. She didn't look at me with contempt when I looked into her eyes. Once I finished, she took my rod from me and struck the ground. I could feel the distant rumbles upon the ground, which echoed throughout Time; I became scared, but my queen only smiled at me. That was the creation of the doors."

"The forbidden doors."

"She told me that she did not hate me for my rebellious decision, that she would have done the same thing in my place. However, those soldiers that would come from the crystals were still bound to me and to Time, and they had to be given a chance to fulfill their duty to her crown – the waters would have a chance to mingle with one another, as they should have, with Time. And that was how it happened. I didn't want the doors to exist, but they did, guarded by the rivers. I knew one day someone would come through, and I worried about it. I didn't want them to be bound as I was, but until the death of my queen, it seemed there was no other way."

Pluto closed her eyes at this with a smile. She was upset about the death of her queen, no doubt, but even so, Lethe and Mnemosyne saw something of a relief when she spoke of death. She then turned and began to walk off; the twins followed suit.

"I was bound to the queen, and her descendants, and so I was bound to Sailor Moon, the daughter." Lethe's eyes widened at this as Pluto went into the hall and opened the door to the outside. "But the princess' rule was...is...different. At the fall of the queen's kingdom, she and her guardians were sent to the mortal world of Earth and were reborn. She became human, felt human emotions, believed in her power and wished to live life as she wanted. Everything she knows of is precious to her. Even after I disobeyed the rules that bound me to my burden, and forfeit my life for it, she gave me what I never expected – freedom. I became mortal. I was not as powerful as I was, but living on Earth, I don't regret it."

"You can leave here now?"

"I can. I have a human identity."

"Hmph." Lethe looked down. "Even if Sailor Moon is on Earth, what could be there that we didn't have on our planets?"

"Life."

"No offense, Sailor Pluto." Lethe smiled coldly. "I just don't think Earth could compare to Lethe. Mortality the human way...I've heard how long humans live. I've heard about all the stuff that happens on planets with full-blooded humans. War, hate...just like us, but more intense, and they die off so quickly. I'm not too big on that."

"Lethe..."

"Besides, the chance of your sailor soldier friends being as forgiving as Sailor Moon is slim." Lethe looked down. "We _did_ work for Galaxia-sama, after all."

"So did we."

The two looked up at the woman at this, shocked. They did not expect this coming from a woman of such bearing. But her face looked sincere; she looked into them, as if she could see what they were thinking, and she smiled.

"Don't be afraid of the past, Lethe." Pluto looked up. "There is the future that must be tended to. Four rivers have disappeared forever for the sins of one, but two are left that can still mingle here. You are here; you have returned to the Gates of Time, a moment I both feared and hoped for."

"Pluto..."

"But the time finally has come for the next step in your long lives; the time in your lives when you were forced to work for another has ended. There is nothing left for you on your planets, for there is nothing left of them. So I must give you some bad news."

"Bad news...?"

"Because I would like you to live on Earth."

The three became dead silent at this. If there were crickets in the Gates of Time, they certainly would have chirped.

"You...what?"

Finally, they both spoke, staring at the dark-skinned soldier as her proposition came to them. They certainly could not believe what they were hearing from her mouth.

"Live...on the Earth?" Lethe's voice was filled with fear. "Live...on a planet we know next to nothing about? How can we...what will we protect with your sailor soldiers there?"

"You will help me, of course, if you wish." Pluto brought her hand up, motioning towards the mists of the time stream. "Time, Memory, and Oblivion – they are three powers that go hand in hand, among the others. Even with all my power, there are some things that even I cannot control – there are still those who break through illegally into the time stream, to try and bend it to their will, which not even I can stop. That is why the rivers were needed in the past; I did not have that foresight when I began to understand that. Now I do."

"And the waters can mingle once more..."

"Mnemosyne?"

"We can protect the rivers here too." There was a new determination in Mnemosyne's voice. "All things must pass the Rivers of Time. Just like we protected the rivers on our planets...just like we rode the double moat at Shadow Galactica...just as those rivers guarded the grove. Our powers can be used here to surround the Gates of Time and repulse intruders. Those who wish to come here must drink the waters of the stream."

"But..." Lethe looked up at Pluto, startled. "How will we live? We still know nothing of Earth. We're not like the humans that live there! And even if we were..." Lethe shut her eyes. "The pain...the suffering...all the years we spent on our planets...we can't change any of that."

"Sister..."

"I know Sailor Moon is there, isn't she? Still I could never look her in the eyes after what I did to her..."

"No," Pluto slowly replied. "You're right. Even with all my rhetoric, you can't change the past. But I might be able to help you to deal with it, even just a little, as well as acclimate you to Earth, if you choose that path."

With that, Pluto walked towards the streams, and brought her rod down, jewel first. At this, Lethe and Mnemosyne's chests began to glow.

"Please take your seed, and approach the stream you want to dedicate yourself to, if you choose to take this duty." Pluto's voice echoed through the air as their sailor crystals floated out of their bodies. "Dip your seed into the waters."

"Our crystals...!"

"Oh, Lethe...!"

"Don't worry." Pluto's voice softened. "As long as you are within the time stream, my extracting your sailor crystal will not kill you. I will not steal your life force; I am simply giving your seeds to you so you may perform the necessary steps."

The two girls looked at one another worriedly, still expecting to die, remembering the last time their sailor crystals were taken from them. After a minute, however, nothing happened.

"...I guess this is it." Mnemosyne slowly took her crystal. "I'll take the left one if you don't mind."

"Hmph." Lethe grabbed her crystal. "You always take the left stream."

With that, the two girls approached their chosen waters and thrust their crystals into them. Suddenly, both rivers bubbled and turned white when the crystals touched them. Rays of colors danced off the waves as the girls took their hands out in amazement, only to find their crystals gone.

"Our..."

"They have returned to your bodies." The two turned to Pluto, who now held something else in her hands. "Now. Take a handful of water from your anointed rivers, and pour it in here."

Compliantly, the two soldiers did so, admiring what Pluto held as they did. It was a chalice, pure white on the outside, with winged handled and a golden moon on top, it's flask open. Once the two were finished, Pluto took up her staff, touching the cup gently with her glowing talisman. There was a flash of light at this transaction, but it was brief, and Pluto brought her staff down once more.

"This is the last task, if you wish to undertake this mission. This is not required, but I wish to give you a choice that I was certainly not given." She looked at the two girls. "The powers of Time, Memory and Oblivion are now mingling within this chalice. But within the Holy Grail, also, is Sailor Moon's power to heal, and it can heal you of the most severe pains you have experienced. All you must do is drink this."

"...That's it?"

"That is all." Pluto's voice lowered. "But I must warn you. Once you drink of this, its power cannot be lifted. The reason I tell you this is because once you taste it, you will be...different."

"Different?"

"You will no longer be what you were. You will not be Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne, not in the way you are now. You will be an Earth human like me...mortal, and subject to what being mortal brings."

The two girls looked at one another at this. Various thoughts raced through their minds at what was being told to them.

"As such, your body will not be as strong as it is now, and it will age." Pluto hesitated. "Your powers will be lessened greatly outside of the time stream when you fight. You cannot stay as a sailor forever, as your body may run out of energy to upkeep your transformations. You may even forget your past – not all of it, but many parts of it."

"You mean..."

"Your new forms will...not be as perfect, just as I have said." Pluto looked to each of them. "You can choose to stay in your current forms, though, stay here and guard the rivers from here for all eternity with your powers. But if you do that you cannot ever come to Earth."

"This is such a terrible choice you're giving us, Sailor Pluto!" Lethe looked at Pluto suspiciously. "It's as if you don't trust us..."

"It's not _you_ I don't trust," the guardian responded. "The people of Earth...are not very open to the idea of interplanetary life as other worlds are. Most of them do not even believe that life exists anywhere else. That is why, on Earth, we also have our civilian identities, to protect us from the people's ignorance."

"...And you're not forcing us to do this?"

"I won't force you to choose." Pluto held up the cup. "If you want, I can throw this away right now, and you never have to bother with it again. You can stay here as you are, and perhaps one day even find another planet to guard these rivers from. But you cannot leave here until you do."

"To choose..."

Lethe stared at the cup, unable to choose at first. A life of mortality seemed scary, or at least mundane, to her. She had lived for so long that growing old and dying was a foreign concept to her; making another identity seemed unnatural.

So she hesitated in choosing; she wasn't sure what she could possibly expect with life as a human. She knew nothing of Earth and, before now, had cared to know nothing of it. Lastly, while there were obviously some things she wouldn't have minded forgetting, there were some things that she did not ever want to forget. It was not all bad on her old planet; there was so much she wanted to keep in her mind to cherish.

_Then I've decided._ Lethe's eyes slit with determination. _I'll tell her my decision._

She opened her mouth to speak just as Mnemosyne's hand grasped the grail.

"I do..._Mnemosyne!_"

Before Lethe could do anything, Mnemosyne had already taken several gulps of the concoction. With one final swallow, Mnemosyne, the white water drizzling down her chin, handed the cup back to Pluto, who obligingly took it back.

"So, Mnemosyne..." Pluto's face showed little emotion at this. "You've decided."

"Yes..."

"**_Mnemosyne!_**"

"It's...it's ok, Lethe..." The girl began to sway, her face turning pale. "I don't...I don't regret anything...really..."

With a sigh, Mnemosyne began to stagger towards Lethe, who promptly took her sister into her arms. Sensing that the mauve clad soldier's strength was quickly waning, Lethe quickly went down to her knees, taking Mnemosyne with her

"Sister...!" The realization of what she did hit Lethe. "Why...!"

"...Sister..." The drink was taking a quick effect on Mnemosyne. "I...wanted to..."

"But _why_?" Lethe shook her sister hard. "You could have stayed this way, like we always were! We could have protected the rivers from the gates like Pluto said we could. Like we did on our planets...we could even look for another planet to live on in these forms! Why...would you give it up...?"

"...Silly..." The smile on Mnemosyne's face stunned Lethe. "I thought...we had nothing...to lose..."

"I..."

"Goodbye, Lethe..." Mnemosyne's face slowly buried into Lethe's chest. "...sister..."

"No! _No!_"

Lethe sucked in air and cried Mnemosyne's name as she tried to revive her sister, with no success. It wasn't that she was dead; she was only sleeping. But Lethe could see something was already missing, that the light within was starting to dim.

"No...Mnemosyne..."

Lethe hugged her partner tightly, what was left of her partner. She felt cold inside, realizing what had just happened. Her sister was gone, and she was to be alone in her duty.

She didn't want to be alone.

"Sailor Lethe..." She looked up at Pluto; if there was any emotion towards what had just happened, none showed still on the guardian's face. "Now, it's your choice."

Lethe looked at the cup, then at her sister, than at the cup again. She couldn't understand it, not at first. She couldn't understand why her sister had given up all she had – her memories, her family, the protection of the stars - for a life of uncertainty.

Then she remembered.

_"I turned back that time, when I realized what it was...I was fearful then. Perhaps that was the reason all of this happened. But now that the world is gone, I have nothing to lose. I may as well open the door this time...with or without you."_

_"Lethe! Wait!"_

_"Mnemosyne."_

_"I'll go. I don't care. I'll stay with you no matter what!"_

She remembered all that she and Mnemosyne had gone through together, from the time they were born, until they were chosen as senshi; from their incresing differences to the war that broke out between their planets; then, Galaxia. The Cauldron. Death, and the return to life. Finally, to the door, and beyond that.

No matter that Lethe and Mnemosyne had lost, they were always together. They had always had each other.

"Give me the cup, Pluto."

Lethe spoke with a new determination as she stood up. Carefully letting Mnemosyne down to the ground, she looked at Pluto, then at the cup, before reaching out for it.

"Is this what you want, then?"

"...Yes." Lethe's hand grasped the cup. "My sister didn't leave me when I went to venture beyond the door. So I won't leave my sister. We're together...forever."

As Lethe went to drink the cup, however, she paused before touching the spout. She looked up at Pluto, a look of worry on her face.

"I...you _will_ keep us together when we wake up, won't you?"

"...It's a promise." To Lethe's surprise, Pluto smiled brightly. "I will make sure you stay together."

"...Thank you."

With that, Lethe drank from the cup. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but when it went past her throat, the sensation was so amazing that Lethe felt as if she had drank the most heavenly thing. She looked at Pluto, and felt her eyes get heavier by the second. Quickly, with what consciousness she had left, she sat down next to her sister, waiting for the darkness to come over her. It came quickly, quicker for her than it did for her sister. But regardless, Lethe swore she had probably never slept better in her life as her mind finally folded into itself, and became quiet.

--------

Pluto looked down at the two as they slept. Her smile was that of a mother's looking at her children as she tucked them into their beds.

"Now." She raised her staff, the Garnet Orb flashing brightly on top of the time staff. The two bodies began to float up from the ground, glowing brightly. "Now it finally begins."


	6. another day

_**another day**_

"Good morning, class!"

The entire class stood at attention as the teacher walked into the room, carrying her books. With a smile, she placed her pile onto the desk and put away her pencils.

"Good morning, Saima-san!"

"We have a surprise for everyone." The teacher bowed as the students all sat. "We have two new students who transferred all the way from the city of Otaru up in Hokkaido. Meet Kioku Soshiko and Kioku Suruko."

The two girls came in, slowly but surely, and the class studied them carefully. One of them looked somewhat sullen, quiet, glancing suspiciously of who was sitting in front of her; the other smiled as the class looked at her, and even waved to a few of them.

What really interested the class, however, was that the new students were twins. It wasn't often that twins walked the halls of Juuban High School, especially twins with pink tinted hair.

"I want you all to make them feel welcome here. This includes you, Hoshi Aiko-san." At this, the teacher glared at one student in the back who was about to roll her eyes; under the master's gaze, however, she stopped midway and looked down to her desk. "Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, Saima-san!"

---------------

"I hear Kioku-san is a good volleyball player!"

Aino Minako was stuffing rice into her mouth as she spoke these words. As a result of talking while eating, her friends were getting rice all over themselves, and had erected shields of silk in order to fend off the attack.

"Which one?" Kino Makoto counted with some annoyance how much rice had piled up onto her lap as she posed the question. "There's two of them."

"The older one."

"And which one _is_ that!"

"Um..." Minako paused. "I think it's Kioku Soshiko-san."

"I thought Suruko-san was the volleyball player and Soshiko-san liked swimming?"

"...You dare challenge my authority on the matter!"

"N-no!" Tsukino Usagi ducked as she felt Minako's stare on her. "I'm j-just saying...they are identical twins, and it's very easy to get them confused."

"...Right." Minako turned away. "Well, one of them is joining the volleyball club is all I'm saying. Soo, Ami-chan, how is your paper going?"

"It's going fine." Mizuno Ami was writing down equations on her napkins. "I've already simplified Fermat's Last Theorem by three pages. I just need a few more examples so I can do the rest of the formula."

"Sounds hard."

"It isn't so hard."

"Hmmmm..." Usagi looked into her lunch box and squeaked. "Ooooh! A cookie! My lucky day!"

The group laughed at this, then proceeded onto other matters – the new twin trying out for drama club, a meeting at Hikawa to discuss current events, and Osaka Naru's upcoming birthday. Unknown to them, however, they were not the only ones to have an opinion.

"Osaka-san is very nice."

"She is."

"Would you like my rice?" Suruko gently pushed her rice away. "I...I don't really like it."

"...Sure."

Suruko and Soshiko were sitting two trees away from Usagi and her friends, watching quietly as they chattered endlessly about everything. It was still hard for them to absorb it all – boys, clothing and weekly allowances were things that they had never discussed with their subjects before. But the idea that they had subjects before seemed distant, almost alien to the twins.

"Do you think they'll let us join them?" Suruko looked at the group worriedly. "I mean...well, we _are_...you know."

"They'll let us eventually. Give it time." Soshiko took a scoop of rice. "They don't even know who we are."

"What is that girl doing...?"

"Spitting rice out of her mouth."

".Ew."

"Get used to it," Soshiko finished the rest of the rice. "If you're friends with _her_..."

The two became silent at this. Meanwhile, Usagi was eating her cookie, while Ami was yelling at Minako for talking and eating once more.

"Let...Soshiko...do you regret it?"

"Hm?"

"Do you regret this?" Seruko looked at her sister worriedly. "Our journey. Pluto. You know...everything."

"I wish I could say I remembered everything of our journey." Soshiko closed her eyes. "Same as you do, I guess. Our memories got replaced with this language we have to speak because we can't remember our mother tongue. Remember _that?_"

"I suppose..." The worry on Soshiko's face increased. "But...do you really regret...the door?"

Soshiko's eyes opened again, and her head turned to look at her sister. Above them, a wind rustled through the trees, shaking leaves from the branches. In front of them, the school clock chimed the time.

"...No." For the first time in a while, Suruko saw her sister smile. "I don't. It's a surprise, but I really don't."

"Really?"

"Really." Soshiko took her sister's hand. "Even if our planets are gone. It's because I have you, Mnemosyne. I have you, and you have me."

"That's right..." Suruko smiled as well. "Together forever."

The clock chimed again, and the students began to file into the building once more. It would go on like it always did after lunch – math, then science, then cleaning. Then it would be time to go home, have dinner and sleep, to wake up and repeat the day over.

But for one moment, there was no one in the world but Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne, soldiers of memory and oblivion. They were to be human for the rest of their time, true, but it did not change the one fact that had kept them alive, that had kept them going strong for countless years and through countless moments of strife. The two hugged, a laugh of happiness on Suruko's lips as they prepared to go back inside..

"Sisters _forever_."

**FIN**


End file.
